SciTechDaily

A self-resetting soft robot can repeatedly jump under infrared light, with simple design changes controlling how and where it moves. A teardrop-shaped soft robot developed at North Carolina State University can keep jumping for as long as infrared light shines on it, without needing to be reset between leaps. Depending on a simple change to [...]

Newly identified CHL1 fibroblasts may help lung cancers escape immune attack by recruiting regulatory T cells around tumors. A previously unknown population of fibroblasts appears to help lung tumors hide from the immune system by drawing suppressive T cells to the edge of the cancer. Columbia University researchers found that these CHL1-expressing cells can create [...]

An active childhood may train the growing body to make movement less demanding for life. A Penn State-led experiment found that birds raised while carrying extra weight became remarkably economical walkers. Once mature, they could transport the added load without using more energy than ordinary birds needed to walk unburdened. The findings offer rare direct [...]

A new study finds that as people age, they remember fewer details from their past and have more difficulty switching between different types of memories. As people grow older, the broad story of a past experience may remain even as the sights, sounds, and emotions tied to a particular moment become harder to retrieve. Research [...]

Oral antihistamines are commonly used to relieve eczema symptoms, but new research from McMaster University found that they provide only limited benefit. For people dealing with eczema, antihistamines may seem like an obvious way to ease itching and improve sleep. But a large review from McMaster University found that oral antihistamines provide little meaningful relief [...]

By analyzing three different types of brain scans, researchers uncovered new clues about the biological processes linked to autism. The results point to the dopamine system as a potentially important part of autism biology. Autism is associated with differences across several systems in the brain, but understanding how those differences connect has been difficult. Researchers [...]

Researchers identified a promising approach to slowing treatment-resistant prostate cancer by targeting two key cancer pathways at the same time. Prostate cancer is diagnosed in about one in eight men during their lifetime. Many survive the disease, but for some, it eventually spreads beyond the prostate and becomes metastatic. In the United States, prostate cancer [...]

A newly identified New Guinea groundsnake named for Slash is genetically distinct from its relatives and lives in threatened forest habitat. A 28-inch-long reddish-brown snake from the forests of New Guinea now carries a name borrowed from rock music: Lielaphis slashi, or Slash’s groundsnake. Its namesake is Guns N’ Roses guitarist Slash, aka Saul Hudson, [...]

Vesper bats possess a second antibody gene system unseen in other known mammals, revealing a new level of immune diversity. Bats can harbor viruses capable of causing severe disease without usually becoming seriously ill themselves, a biological puzzle that has challenged scientists for years. Researchers at Tulane University, working with collaborators at Stanford University and [...]

Three supermassive black holes in a distant and therefore very old galaxy offer a glimpse into how black holes merged and grew in the early universe. Light from the galaxy J0148-4214 has been traveling toward Earth for more than 12.5 billion years, revealing the system as it looked only about 1.2 billion years after the [...]

The first globular cluster stellar stream found beyond the Milky Way shows that these faint structures can be used to study dark matter in other galaxies. A faint ribbon of stars stretching across a galaxy can preserve a record of how that system has evolved. Known as globular cluster stellar streams, these long, coherent structures [...]

Electronic fluctuations can act as a resonant bridge between normally separate crystal vibrations, offering a new route to study and control ferroaxial quantum states. Symmetry is a basic rule of the natural world. It explains why some objects appear the same after they are rotated, reflected, or changed in other ways. In materials, symmetry helps [...]

Gut bacteria produce a common compound called imidazole propionate, and a study found that higher levels are associated with dementia related changes in the brain. A molecule made by gut bacteria could help explain why changes in the intestinal microbiome are connected to Alzheimer’s disease. Researchers report that higher levels of imidazole propionate, or ImP, [...]

A virus kills a bacterium, and in the wreckage, other microbes may find one of life’s most essential nutrients: vitamin B12. New research from Virginia Tech suggests that bacteriophages, viruses that infect bacteria, can release vitamin B12 trapped inside bacterial cells. That sudden nutrient windfall can then fuel neighboring microbes that cannot make B12 themselves, [...]

Polyvinyl chloride is one of the world’s most widely used plastics, but it is also difficult to recycle responsibly. Discarded PVC from pipes, window frames, and even credit cards could become a useful ingredient in synthetic lubricants instead of ending up in a landfill. Virginia Tech chemist and chemical engineer Guoliang “Greg” Liu and his [...]

A simple walk together could help couples communicate better, feel closer, and handle disagreements more effectively. New research from Brigham Young University found that young married couples who were physically active together tended to report better communication, stronger conflict resolution, and less marital stress. The association was stronger for shared exercise than for working out [...]

A new screening method uses an unexpected body measurement to estimate diabetes risk without a blood test. Researchers have developed a free online screening tool that considers the length of a person’s thigh alongside six more familiar health indicators. Called MEDWACS, the tool estimates the likelihood that an adult has prediabetes or undiagnosed type 2 [...]

A steady daily routine may quietly protect the body from pain, depression, and the damaging effects of disrupted sleep. A University of Missouri study suggests that a predictable routine may support physical and emotional health by helping the body keep time. Rather than focusing only on sleep, the researchers examined the broader pattern of activities [...]

Modern humans and Neanderthals may have shared more than land and genes. They may have also shared culture. Modern humans and Neanderthals may have shared more than territory, tools, and genes. New evidence from a cave in southern Türkiye suggests the two groups may also have exchanged ideas and developed similar symbolic traditions over thousands [...]

A brain region tied to memory and reward may explain how GLP-1 drugs reduce cravings. For many people, imagining a juicy burger or a cold glass of beer is enough to spark a craving and nudge them toward action. That connection between mental images and behavior has an important purpose. It helps push people to [...]